Dhoni praises bowlers after win over Sri Lanka

The Indian bowlers skittled out Sri Lanka for a meager 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over.

advertisement

PTI

January 10, 2010

UPDATED: January 10, 2010 21:50 IST

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lavished praise on his fast bowling department for charting an impressive eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka and sealing their berth in the final of the tri-nation cricket series, here today.

The Indian bowlers skittled out Sri Lanka for a meager 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over, guiding the team to 214 for two for a facile win that came with 17.2 overs to spare.

"This was the best fielding effort we have put up in the last one year. Everybody has today bowled to their potential, but the credit goes to fast bowlers for the good start they gave to us," Dhoni said after the match.

"Zaheer (Khan) was superb with his bowling and then (Sudeep) Tyagi and Sreesanth also bowled quite well. Specially Tyagi was good in his second spell," Dhoni added.

Dhoni was also happy with the performance of the batting order, which negotiated the Sri Lankan bowling with ease.

"(Dinesh) Karthik batted well and gave a good start, but unfortunately missed the half-century. Then Gautam (Gambhir) and Virat (Kohli) batted superbly. Kohli has been consistent with his batting in the last few games," Dhoni said.

"Now we would like to concentrate on the next match against Bangladesh," he added.

India will take on the hosts in an inconsequential encounter tomorrow here.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara, visibly disappointed with the performance of the team, said they would take a lesson from the defeat.

"I have nothing much to say about our batting and bowling performance in today's match. Luckily, it was not the final.

We have to look at the mistakes and learn from them to ensure a positive outcome in the final," Sangakkara said.

Sri Lanka, who have already qualified for the final, would meet India in the summit clash on January 13 here.

Zaheer, who was adjudged Man-of-the-Match, said, "I am happy with my performance as I remained wicketless in the first two games."

"(Tillakaratne) Dilshan and Sangakkara were going great but my plan was to stick to the basics and keep the balls on the right area, which helped me to get the wickets," Zaheer said.

Asked about the final, the left-arm pacer said, "Toss will play a crucial role in Wednesday's final match.

Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from